The Source magazine’s Dave Mays and Ray Benzino slammed Russell Simmons for allegedly pulling out of the mag’s voter education rally in Miami. “Russell Simmons has been exploiting hip hop for years,” the two said in a press release. “Russell is a serious threat to the advancement of the black community.” Simmons responded by telling The New York Daily News: “I mean them no ill will and wish them the best, and I hope I can still be a part of the process to promote healing between the artists and each other. But I was not committed to go their summit.”

On a new DJ Exclusive diss track, entitled ‘What People Do For Money’, Big Proof of D12 lashes out at Ray Benzino on behalf of his mentor Eminem. After calling Benzino “wack” and “dime rich,” the onslaught targets The Source Magazine’s “anorexic” ad sales as a result of battling Interscope/Shady Records.

A song from the upcoming mixtape from Green Lantern has leaked. It is Eminem’s latest diss track towards Benzino and The Source. Eminem seems to have gone back to how he does it best. A bouncy beat with his classic one liners tearing into the opponent.

SOHH.com caught up with The Bawston Strangla, the white MC Ray Benzino signed to his Surrender label in the late 90s to get his reaction on Eminem recording a racially charged rap during his teen years. “I think he made a mistake, I think he was young,” Strangla told SOHH. “To me that’s what it sounded like. It sounded like he was probably 16 or 17 years old his girlfriend broke up with him and he was heated. But at the same time, you don’t go putting stuff down if you don’t mean it like that.” The rapper got dropped from Surrender Records right around the time Slim blew up. According to the Strangla, Benzino felt it would be near impossible to promote another white rapper while Eminem was making so much noise — prompting Zino to put the Strangla on hold before eventually dropping him. Strangla denied being dropped for using the ‘N’ word in a rap, claiming Benzino was in the studio when it was recorded.

Today in a new statement from the Source Magazine, the Co-Founders David Mays and Benzino charged the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HHSAN) and Russell Simmons of being irresponsible for defending Eminem over his racist lyrics that The Source aired publicly last week. The full article at ballerstatus.net has since been removed or relocated.

Davey D. weighed in on Eminem’s disparaging remarks about black women when he was 16, which were aired to the press by rivals Dave Mays and Benzino. Davey writes, “He should own up to it and apologize. He should do it, not because Dave Mays, Benzino and The Source are pressuring him. He shouldn’t apologize because of all the negative publicity that may erode some of his fan base and market share. He shouldn’t apologize because Interscope Records, XXL, Rollingstone, Radio and video outlets that play his music, Dr Dre and any other person or institution financially connected to Em will be questioned about their judgment or lack thereof. He should apologize because what he said was offensive and hurtful. And while, I understand, he may have been hurting himself when he made his songs, he still should apologize. As far as I’m concerned Black women deserve to hear that. If Em does do that and he is as sincere and forthcoming with his feelings as he is in his other songs, he will be several steps ahead of a whole lot of people who dis Black women and support the dissing of Black women everyday.” Read more.

The New York Daily News reports The Source magazine executives David Mays and Raymond ‘Benzino’ Scott aired the Eminem track about his breakup with a black girlfriend in 1993. “Black girls only want your money cause they’re dumb chicks,” Slim Shady raps. “Never date a black girl because blacks only want your money, and that s– ain’t funny … black girls and white girls just don’t mix, because black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks.” Mays said that Eminem must be “held accountable” for the 10-year-old track. In his statement, Eminem fired back at Benzino, Mays and The Source, saying that they have had “a vendetta against me, Shady Records and our artists for a long time. The tape they played today was something I made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager. I’d just broken up with my girlfriend, who was African-American, and I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was. I hope people will take it for the foolishness that it was, not for what somebody is trying to make it into today.”

Ray Benzino was recently on radio station 100.3 the beat in LA promoting his new found ally Ja Rule’s album and he had alot on his mind. The rapper / magazine owner went on to attack the usual people he attacks, Eminem, 50 Ccent, and Dr. Dre. However, he has added a few names to that list which included Westside Connection, D-Block and Fabolous.(more…)